Hughes Sets Official Visit Schedule

While many five-star prospects have yet to even name favorite schools, Travis Hughes has mapped out his entire official visit schedule.

"We got started in this process pretty early," Hughes said. "My dad is the mastermind behind all this. He has been through [the recruiting process] before with my brother, [Trenton Hughes]."

Hughes, a 6-foot-1, 228-pound linebacker from Virginia Beach (Va.) Kempsville, is scheduled to visit Maryland the weekend of Sept. 11 when the Terrapins host Morgan State, Virginia Tech the weekend of Sept. 18 when the Hokies host East Carolina, LSU the weekend of Oct. 2 when the Tigers host Tennessee, North Carolina the weekend of Oct. 9 when the Tar Heels host Clemson, and then Clemson the weekend of Oct. 16 when the Tigers host Georgia Tech.

"I'll get to see LSU before North Carolina; and then I get to see Clemson playing UNC; and then I get to see Clemson," Hughes said.

Hughes says the five schools he's officially visiting are "right now" his final five.

"I've been dealing with these coaches for a while now," Hughes said. "…These schools are the ones that I feel that I've been talking to the most [and] they've been showing me love the most. These are the five schools that my father and I felt that I needed to be going to."

Hughes admitted, though, that schools like NC State and Virginia have a slight chance of jumping back into the mix.

"I have schools that could pop back in," Hughes said. "But for right now, those are the five schools that I'm looking at."

With the exception of LSU, Hughes has unofficially visited, and has a good feel for, all five finalists.

"That's why I need to get out there [to LSU]," Hughes said. "I love LSU… LSU is probably the only one that I haven't really been involved in. But I like LSU and I have a good opportunity at LSU."

Additionally, LSU as well as Clemson are "out of his comfort zone," meaning more than five hours away from his family.

"If they are the best fit for me, that's what I'm going to do," Hughes said.

Heading into his official visits, UNC remains Hughes' leader.

Hughes isn't exactly sure when he'll make a verbal commitment.

"Right now, I'm looking at probably before my playoffs or after my playoffs," Hughes said. "We're going to see how that goes. But if it's too much, I'm going to probably drag it out until after my playoffs so I can focus then. And if someone really blows me out [during an official visit], I might just pull the trigger."

Hughes doesn't have an official visit scheduled for college football's opening weekend and takes a break from official trips the weekend of Sept. 25. However, he and his father will likely be attending games those weekends.

"I might me traveling a lot on the weekends," Hughes said with a laugh. "I plan to be pretty busy. [My dad and I] like traveling, but right now it's more of a ‘We need to travel.'"

On Sept. 6, Hughes said he will definitely attend the Maryland-Navy game in Baltimore and plans on making it to the Virginia Tech-Boise State game later that night in Landover, Md. That prior Saturday, though, he plans to stay home and watch two of his finalists battle in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff – UNC and LSU.